Singapore Part 1

Oh where to begin! First off let me warn you, this may be a long post – just beware.

We arrived around midnight on Wednesday evening and obviously went straight to the hotel. Our body clock told us it was 3am in the morning so we were pretty exhausted. We woke up Thursday morning around 8 and left the hotel around 10. We did not have a set plan for the day so we started wondering. We ended up at an outdoor food court near Chinatown and ate brunch. There were probably 100 different “fast food type” restaurants in this area. They all served some kind of Asian food. I ended up eating sliced pork and rice and Kevin had some noodles. After we ate we went to Chinatown. It was huge! You may think it is funny that there is a Chinatown in a predominately Chinese city, but the reason is that Raffles (the man who founded modern Singapore) divided the city based on race, and Chinatown just stuck. We walked around and saw a lot of souvenir type shops and then went into another food market. This market had fresh meat, fish, and fruit. Also included in this category are frogs, eels, and durians. I have yet to eat a durian but I hope to do so before we leave. Durians are gigantic, stinky fruits that are common in Southern Asia. Anyway, this market was very cool. My senses were on total overload all morning! The sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of everything were unlike anything else I have ever seen. It was pretty incredible.

Kevin in Chinatown

The 4 official languages of Singapore - English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay

After we wondered around Chinatown for a bit we started walking and wondering some more. It was very humid so we tried to pop into a few air conditioned buildings along our way! We ended up going into a building called FUNAN – an electronic super center. We spent more time than planned at FUNAN because it started to pour rain. It rained for an hour or two and then we wondered some more.

We eventually ended up at the Raffles Hotel, famous for the invention of the Singapore Sling. The Singapore Sling is to Singapore as the Hurricane is to New Orleans. I had a Singapore Sling and Kevin had a beer. The price of alcohol is very high here, and our bill was certainly not cheep! Needless to say we did it once, got the picture, and will not be returning back to the Raffles Hotel for another round of drinks (at least on this trip :0)).

The Raffles Hotel

The famous Singapore Sling at the Long Bar

We started to poop out so we headed back to the hotel. I would imagine we walked close to 10 miles this day! It was tiring, but it was a great way to see the city. We fell asleep around 7:30 and were up this morning at 5am. We stayed at the hotel around 9 and then went out exploring again. As we are creatures of habit, we ended up eating at the same place for breakfast. We went back to Chinatown and went to two different places of worship. The first place we saw was the Sri Mariamman Temple. This is Singapore's oldest Hindu Temple. It was very interesting to see the inside of the temple and to see some of the rituals of Hinduism.

The tower of the Sri Mariamman Temple

The second place of worship we visited was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This temple was very different from the Hindu Temple and it was facinating to compare the two. The differences were like night and day. The style and layout were completly different, as well as the way they worshiped. I still don't know much about each religion, but it was very cool to see the insides of the temples!

The outside of the Chinese Buddhist Temple

A quick glimpse of Buddha

We had to take our shoes off to go into each Temple

An up close photo of the details on the Sri Veeramakaliamman (you do and you clean it up) Temple - another Hindu temple in Little India that was very similar to the Sri Mariamman Temple. We didn't go into this one.

Once we were done in Chinatown we went up to Little India. Kevin was really excited to go into the food stores. We walked around for a while and will be returning later for some food and more shopping. While in Little India we also went to the Sultan Mosque - although we couldn't go in. So we saw Hinduism, Buddhism, and Muslim, or at least parts of it all.

The outside of the Mosque

After Little India we went looking for the Fountain of Wealth - the Guinness Record holder for the World's Largest Fountain. We had some trouble finding it (surprisingly), so we stopped for some food first. We finally found a Vietnamese Pho restaurant so we each had noodle bowls. Kevin was very happy! We ate at Suntec City, which is a gigantic shopping mall. This led us right to the fountain. Legend has it, if you walk around the fountain clockwise, 3 times, while touching the water and making a silent wish, your wish will come true. So, this is exactly what we did. Unfortuantly at this time I don't have a picture I can show you, but we will be going back again to get some better pictures. We purchased a picture that they took of us, and I will try to scan it and post it when we get home.

We tried to explore the Esplanade, which is the performing arts complex here, but we got really tired, so didn't get much accomplished. Maybe we will go back later. We got back to the hotel around 5 and have been hanging out since. We may go out later tonight, but we will see how we feel. I will post again as soon as possible.

SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG POST! there was just so much to share. YOU CAN'T SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED!

Sydney Revisited Pt. 2

Yesterday we went to the ship and worked for about an hour and then went to the beach! It was so hot yesterday and the beach seemed like our only option to cool off. We went down to the train station and an employee said that someone had been struck by a train so it was shut down in both directions. We ended up taking a bus to the beach, which was a nice way to see some more of the city. Once we got to the beach, we went straight into the water. It was a little chilly at first, but totally worth it! We had a great time. After we got out of the water we walked along the beach and found out that there was a current bringing in Bluebottles - a type of jellyfish. The life guards were instructing us on what to do if we got stung, and said the best way to prevent a sting was to stay out of the water, so that is exactly what we did! We ended up gathering our things and having lunch. We had a great time - although short lived!

Pretty self explanatory

This is what the Bluebottles looked like. They were all over the beach!

Perfect weather!

This morning we went into the Opera House! It was very cool. Kevin and I were both hesitant about the tour, but it was great. We did not get to see the actual hall that the Operas take place in because there was a rehearsal, but we did get to see the inside of the Concert Hall while they were rehearsing! It was awesome! They were rehearsing Mendel's Midsummer Night's Dream with full orchestra. It was a pretty incredible experience. We were unable to take any pictures inside the theatres, but that is ok! The tour was very interesting and we walked out with a lot more knowledge than before!

I just can't get enough of this spectacular building - especially now that I understand more about the construction and maintenance of it all!

Waiting patiently before the tour began!

I am now sitting in the Kuala Lumpur Airport waiting for our flight to Singapore. The weather forecast is predicting a 60%+ chance of precipitation each day we are in Singapore, on top of 88 degree weather, and close to 100% humidity. Hopefully we will get some nice weather while we are there. I will post as soon as possible.

Sydney Revisited

It is 4am on Tuesday morning and I am awake. What is wrong with this picture? I really thought the 14hours of sleep the night before was enough to set me straight, but I thought wrong! The jet lag hasn't been too bad, but it is definitely apparent. We arrived in Sydney on Saturday morning. Our flight was a little late landing, but we made it; 15.5 hours after taking off. This flight seemed longer to me than the last time we came here. We were able to get a room as soon as we got to the hotel. We showered immediately and then got lunch. Lunch was proceeded by a 5 hour nap, and then we spent the rest of the night in the hotel room. Not much happened on our first day!

This is what my feet looked like when we got off the flight!

On our second day (Sunday) we went to some of the outdoor markets. It is always fun to shop! I decided I wanted to start gathering books from different countries for when I start teaching, so I got 3 kids books at the market! I am very excited about this new idea! We also stopped in a few Asian markets and Kevin was in heaven! Sydney has some pretty cool stuff! We didn't stay out too late, and without plans for the evening I fell asleep at 4pm and slept until 6am the following morning (with the help of NyQuil)!

Yesterday we went to the Featherdale Wildlife Park. This park was incredible! It was about 45mins on a train from Sydney. You walk into the park and there are Wallabies wondering all over! You can feed them and pet them and they come right up to you! It was an absolutely incredible experience!

A Wombat!

Just so cool! A mama Wallaby and her Joey!

Kevin and the Wallaby and Joey

A close up of the Joey - it was so cute!

A cuddly Koala

At this park, you could actually touch the Koala's - and it didn't cost extra!

A Kookaburra in a Gum Tree

Feeding a Roo - a mixture of hay and other grains in an ice cream cone. They loved the cones!

Another Roo

An EMU!

An Echidna

A Tasmanian Devil

An Albino Wallaby

A Dingo

And a Big God-Dammed Crocodile - Saltwater Croc (the largest crocs in the world: up to 7 meters long)!

So far our trip has been great! We have been very relaxed and have had a wonderful time! We will be going to the ship today and then we will most likely go to the beach. Tomorrow we leave for Singapore. I will try to post once more before we leave Australia.

Florida - Kennedy Space Center

We're off again!

I met up with Kevin in Tampa on Sunday evening and we proceeded straight to dinner. We ate at this fantastic steakhouse with cows everywhere! The food was great and the price was just right! We both had Prime Rib - the house special - that came out with these great plastic cows notating how the steaks were cooked. It was very cute! So then I had to get a picture after dinner with the cows in front of the restaurant!

I am by the cows butt....I am hard to see, but I promise I am there!

On Monday, we went to the ship and then drove through Orlando to Melbourne. Kevin is working for a few days and I decided to have some fun! On Tuesday, I went to the Kennedy Space Center (by myself) and had a blast. I got there around 11:30am and stayed until they kicked me out at 6:30pm. I feel much smarter now!

The first thing I decided to do was go on the 3 hour bus tour. The buses took us to three different buildings that were not near the actual visitors center. The first stop was at the observation deck.

On the way we passed the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) - this is where they put the shuttles together!

The view of the launch pad from the observation deck. If you look close you can see the brown rocket. The Space Shuttle Discovery is supposed to launch on Feb. 27, so it is already on the launch pad ready to go!

Me with the launch pad in the background

Another view of the VAB. You can see the doors on the left...this is how they get the shuttle in and out.

There are only three space shuttles that get reused for each mission - The Endeavour, The Discovery, and The Atlantis.

After the Observation Deck, we went to the Apollo/Saturn V building. This building had a real Saturn V rocket (moon rocket) hanging from the roof. This rocket is the biggest rocket made, measuring 365 feet long. This area was also a great tribute to all the Astronauts that served on the Apollo missions.

This is the very bottom of the rocket. The boosters were huge!

A space suit!

The last stop was the International Space Station Center. This is where all of the pieces that are delivered up to the ISS are assembled and inspected. There were two finished pieces that are scheduled to go up in May. It was pretty interesting.

The piece covered in the back (with the Japanese Flag) is going up to the ISS in May.

This is how the Astronauts go potty...they have to strap their feet down so they don't float away!

A picture of a gator on the way back to the Visitor's Center. The Space Center is located on a Natural Wildlife Reserve, and we saw a good number of gators throughout the day.

Around 3pm I went back to the Visitor's Center. I went on the Shuttle Launch Experience "ride" and then walked through a replica of the Shuttle Explorer. Then I went to see a presentation by a real astronaut. His name was John Blaha. Blaha has spent 161 days in space on 5 different missions. He spent 4 months on the ISS and he discussed this trip with us. After his talk there was a photo op, so I jumped on it!

Astronaut John Blaha and I

The Space Shuttle Explorer replica

I went to see a 3-D Imax about how the ISS was put together and when I came out the sun was setting. I took this picture of the Rocket Garden, which turned out pretty cool!

Rocket Garden

Overall, it was a great day! I am really glad I decided to go by myself. I feel more educated!

Well, tomorrow (Thursday) we take off for Sydney. We arrive in Sydney on Saturday morning (Friday mid-morning in CO). We will be in Sydney for 5 days and then we travel to Singapore for 4 days. I will post as often as possible!

Skiing and Snowboarding

On Friday, Kevin and I decided to go up to Beaver Creek to go skiing. Kevin's friend/boss Derek got a phenomenal deal at a resort in Beaver Creek so Kevin was going to go spend a night up there, while I had to stay here and work. It turned out that I was able to go with Kevin at the last minute. So we packed our bags, purchased some ski pants, and drove up to Avon, Colorado. We got there around 5pm on Friday evening and ended up just eating dinner and relaxing for the evening. On Saturday, we woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast, and hopped on the Gondola (which left straight from the hotel) to go to the ski lifts. The Beaver Creek area has 24 ski lifts and I can't even tell you how many runs. I stayed on the Green slopes - a whole whopping three before I pooped out - while Kevin was able to go down a few of the Black slopes. We had an incredible day, although I am extremely sore today! We had such a good time that we are even talking about getting passes next year and going more often. Next time I think I will try snowboarding instead of Skiing - my knees were not liking me so much!

Here we are at the top of the mountain - you can't tell, but we actually have skis and snowboards on our feet.